Faithful

Faithful
By Bobbie Schaeperkoetter

“Finish it all the way through- to completion.” That’s a concept I’m teaching a lot in my house lately. I keep reminding my teenage son to stick with something until it’s done and done well. I always premise this by telling him that this is a lesson for everyone to practice over and over throughout their whole life in a million different ways.

Tonight, I was thinking about how important that lesson really is.

It’s just too easy to quit when things get hard. It’s more convenient to walk away when difficulties arise. It’s simpler to throw in the towel when we face challenges.

Perseverance is hard.

When we don’t have the answers we want, when we don’t know why a breakthrough hasn’t come, when can’t understand how things could be this way…
When we’re bone tired, when our hearts are hurting, when we’ve waited and waited and waited…
When the journey has been constantly up hill, when every turn reveals a new challenge, when it has been one thing after another…
When all we want to do is to just throw our hands up in despair or frustration…

That, sweet friend, is the time to hang on to hope with every little bit of strength we can muster. That is the time to cling to the hand of the One who holds every tear and every tomorrow. That is the time to lift our eyes up and seek His loving face because we believe that He is good and He is God.

That is the time to remember that the battles rage on, but the war is already won.

We don’t choose faithfulness because it means God will intervene and change our situation or circumstances. We choose faithfulness because as we do, He changes us.

2 Timothy 4:7-8
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.